Howardites
Professional · Ages Specialists

Meteorite Classification: The Professional's Guide

Current practice from chondrite groups to iron chemistry

Corvanelle Publishing

A working reference for classifiers, curators and postgraduate researchers. It sets out current practice for every meteorite type: the fifteen chondrite groups with their diagnostic Fa, Fs, metal and oxygen-isotope ranges; petrologic types, shock stages S1–S6 and weathering grades W0–W6; primitive achondrites, ureilites, HED meteorites, angrites, aubrites, lunar and Martian rocks; pallasites and mesosiderites; and iron structural classes and chemical groups. Chapters on oxygen and nucleosynthetic isotopes, analytical methods, naming, pairing and report writing are followed by case studies, a classification key, a gazetteer and worked problems with answers.

  • 104,578 words
  • About 550 pages
  • 58 chapters
  • Ages Specialists
£14.99

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. Principles of Classification
  3. How the Classification Developed
  4. Recognising a Meteorite
  5. Chondrite Components
  6. Chondrite Classes and Their Defining Parameters
  7. The Ordinary Chondrites: H, L and LL
  8. Type 3 Chondrites and Their Subtypes
  9. CI and CM Chondrites and Related Meteorites
  10. CO, CV and CK Chondrites
  11. The CR Clan and Other Carbonaceous Chondrites
  12. Enstatite, R and K Chondrites
  13. Presolar Grains and Their Classification
  14. Organic Matter in Meteorites
  15. Aqueous Alteration on Parent Bodies
  16. Petrologic Types
  17. Thermometry and Cooling Rates
  18. Shock Metamorphism
  19. Terrestrial Weathering
  20. Breccias, Clasts and Impact-Melt Rocks
  21. Primitive Achondrites
  22. Ureilites
  23. HED Meteorites
  24. Angrites, Aubrites and Ungrouped Achondrites
  25. Lunar Meteorites
  26. Martian Meteorites
  27. Pallasites
  28. Mesosiderites
  29. Iron Meteorites: Structure
  30. Iron Meteorites: The Magmatic Groups
  31. Non-magmatic and Ungrouped Irons
  32. Inclusions and Accessory Minerals in Iron Meteorites
  33. Oxygen Isotopes
  34. Nucleosynthetic Isotopes and the CC–NC Dichotomy
  35. Chronology and Exposure Ages
  36. Accretion Time and the Fate of Parent Bodies
  37. Sample Preparation and Optical Petrography
  38. Identifying Meteorite Minerals Under the Microscope
  39. Electron Beam Methods
  40. Bulk Chemistry, Isotopes and Other Methods
  41. Naming and Approval
  42. Pairing
  43. Writing the Classification Report
  44. Difficult Samples: Small, Weathered and Ambiguous
  45. Case Studies in Classification
  46. From Meteorite Groups to Parent Bodies
  47. Returned Asteroid Samples
  48. Cometary Material and the Asteroid–Comet Continuum
  49. Micrometeorites and Cosmic Spherules
  50. Identifying the Projectile in Impact Rocks
  51. Recovery Programmes and Curation
  52. Falls, Finds and Meteorite Statistics
  53. Appendix A: A Classification Key
  54. Appendix B: Reference Data for Calculations
  55. Appendix C: Gazetteer of Reference Meteorites
  56. Appendix D: Practice Problems with Answers
  57. Appendix E: Further Study
  58. Glossary